Heatwave

Today we are having a heatwave and therefore we have a bushfire! Scary messages over the national radio for the people in the area affected and  a huge pall of smoke over the city.  Temp has reached 39 degrees here and there is a fairly strong northerly blowing. AND we are not doing that well over the South Australians in the cricket one-day final in Adelaide, where it also as hot as here! Bummer! I have the reverse-cycle going full bore upstairs and it is quite cool in the house, and down here I have a large fan blowing over me so I am comfortable, but I went outside just a minute ago and the air is so crisp! My poor tomatoes are cooking on the vine!

I have two cards to share and will enter them in the following challenges:
Card Makin Mamas - Birthday cards (both cards)
CAS-ual Fridays - Puns (for the first card only)
Hotshot Craft blog - One for the Boys (second card only)

I was using Annabelle Stamps idea of creating your own backgrounds (but missed the challenge) plus I wanted to use a stamp set I have had for a while and only used two or three times - TJ Designs Poultry Party.  I also used SU Whisper White, and Marina Mist card and ribbon, and ink plus I used Crumb Cake ink as well. The punches were all SU punches as well. The card base is SU Kraft (or Crumb Cake). The string is from Annabelle Stamps. 

 The second card is for my BIL whose birthday is the 29th February! So this year he gets to celebrate.  We had to post the parcel so I made this in a bit of a hurry!  He is a photographer (more video these days) and without his camera there would not be many snaps of the children when they were young.

The stamp set I used is a new Dark Door one I fell in love with and had to purchase called Photography! The image of the lads is a stamp I have had for years and love, called Mariner Men by The Queens Dresser Drawers! Don'ch love it! I have use DP from SU and Papermania Kraft card to made the base, and SU Very Vanilla for the stamped images in . The inks are all either Memento or Tim Holtz Distress inks. It was distressed and layered as I tried to get a vintage feel. I was going to add some string but it got mailed before I could do that!

The inside of the card is sort of the same - but I do love this sentiment from the DD set. I thought it was suitable for a man whose birthday only comes once every four years! He turns the same age as his eldest grandson this year! Last birthday he was the same as his eldest granddaughter, who is turning 22 this year!